Wireless Passenger Proximity Detection System for Autonomous Vehicles

ABSTRACT

A system and method are provided and include a controller that controls a door lock actuator system of an autonomous vehicle. The controller is configured to receive a request for transportation from a server in communication with a smartphone. The request for transportation includes a pickup location and a unique identifier. The controller is configured to store the unique identifier received from the server as a stored unique identifier, to communicate directly with the smartphone, to receive a smartphone unique identifier from the smartphone, to compare the smartphone unique identifier with the stored unique identifier, and to control the door lock actuator system to unlock and/or open at least one door of the autonomous vehicle when the smartphone unique identifier matches the stored unique identifier.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for wirelesspassenger proximity detection for autonomous vehicles and, inparticular, to systems and methods for wireless passenger proximitydetection for autonomous vehicles that detect and recognize a computingdevice, such as a smartphone, of a passenger that is near the autonomousvehicle.

BACKGROUND

This section provides background information related to the presentdisclosure, which is not necessarily prior art.

Systems exist for autonomous or self-driving vehicles, which can be usedas a form of public or shared transportation. For example, a passengermay be able to use a computing device, such as a smartphone, to requestthat an autonomous or self-driving vehicle pick up the passenger at adesignated location and transport the passenger to a designateddestination. Once the autonomous or self-driving vehicle arrives at thepickup location, however, such systems may not be able to recognize andconfirm the identity of the particular passenger that requestedtransportation.

SUMMARY

This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not acomprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.

The present teachings include systems and methods for wireless passengerproximity detection for autonomous vehicles

The present teachings include a system comprising a controller thatcontrols a door lock actuator system of an autonomous vehicle. Thecontroller is configured to receive a request for transportation from aserver in communication with a smartphone. The request fortransportation includes a pickup location and a unique identifier. Thecontroller is configured to store the unique identifier received fromthe server as a stored unique identifier, to communicate directly withthe smartphone, to receive a smartphone unique identifier from thesmartphone, to compare the smartphone unique identifier with the storedunique identifier, and to control the door lock actuator system tounlock and/or open at least one door of the autonomous vehicle when thesmartphone unique identifier matches the stored unique identifier.

The present teachings also include a method. The method includesreceiving, with a controller of an autonomous vehicle, a request fortransportation from a server in communication with a smartphone. Therequest for transportation including a pickup location and a uniqueidentifier. The method also includes storing, with the controller, theunique identifier received from the server as a stored unique identifierin a memory accessible to the controller. The method also includescommunicating, with the controller, directly with the smartphone toreceive a smartphone unique identifier from the smartphone. The methodalso includes comparing, with the controller, the smartphone uniqueidentifier with the stored unique identifier. The method also includescontrolling, with the controller, a door lock actuator system to unlockand/or open at least one door of the autonomous vehicle when thesmartphone unique identifier matches the stored unique identifier.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the descriptionprovided herein. The description and specific examples in this summaryare intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended tolimit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only ofselect embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are notintended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates an autonomous vehicle according to the presentteachings.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate a block diagram of a wireless passengerproximity detection system for an autonomous vehicle according to thepresent teachings.

FIG. 3 illustrates a method for wireless passenger proximity detectionfor an autonomous vehicle according to the present teachings.

Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughoutthe several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference tothe accompanying drawings.

The present teachings include systems and methods for wireless passengerproximity detection for autonomous vehicles. For example, the presentteachings include detecting a passenger's smartphone when arriving at apassenger pickup location. The autonomous vehicle, for example, canreceive unique identification information for smartphones or othercomputing devices that are nearby the designated passenger pickuplocation and can compare the received unique identification informationwith unique identification information received at the time theautonomous vehicle was requested for transportation. Once the autonomousvehicle matches/recognizes the received unique identificationinformation from a smartphone at the passenger pickup location, based onthe comparison, the autonomous vehicle can unlock and/or open the doorsof the autonomous vehicle to allow the verified passenger to enter theautonomous vehicle.

With reference to FIG. 1, an autonomous vehicle 10 is illustrated andincludes a controller 12, a steering system 13, a throttle system 14, abraking system 16, a communication module 20, a door lock actuatorsystem 22, and a global positioning system (GPS) 38.

The autonomous vehicle 10 also includes one or more environmentalsensors 18 to sense information about the surroundings of the autonomousvehicle 10. For example, the environmental sensors 18 may include animage sensor, such as a camera, mounted to a roof, a windshield, and/orother locations of the autonomous vehicle 10. Additionally, theenvironmental sensors 18 may include a Lidar sensor, a radar sensor, anultrasonic sensor, or other sensors for detecting information about thesurroundings of the autonomous vehicle 10, including, for example, othervehicles, lane lines, guard rails, objects in the roadway, buildings,pedestrians, etc., While the environmental sensors 18 are shown in FIG.1 as a single entity, additional environmental sensors may be located onor around the autonomous vehicle 10. For example, the autonomous vehicle10 may include a rear-facing sensor for sensing objects behind theautonomous vehicle 10.

The controller 12 receives data about the surroundings of the autonomousvehicle 10 from the environmental sensors 18 and the GPS 38 and uses thereceived data for driving the autonomous vehicle 10. For example, thecontroller 12 uses the received data to control the steering system 13,the throttle system 14, and the braking system 16 to drive the vehicleto a particular location. For example, the location may be a pickuplocation to pick up a passenger that has requested transportation viathe autonomous vehicle 10 through a smartphone 32 running a smartphoneapplication that communicates with a server 30 that, in turn,communicates with the controller 12 of the autonomous vehicle 10 usingthe communication module 20.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A, line 40 illustrates a wireless communicationlink between the smartphone 32 and the server 30 while line 42illustrates a wireless communication link between the server 30 and thecontroller 12 of the autonomous vehicle 10. As mentioned above, theserver 30 communicates with the controller 12 through the communicationmodule 20. The smartphone 32 may communicate with the server 30 over theInternet using a WiFi network or a cellular data network, such as anLTE, 4G, or 3G network. Similarly, the server 30 may communicate withthe communication module 20 of the autonomous vehicle 10 over theInternet using a WiFi network or a cellular data network, such as anLTE, 4G, or 3G network. Additionally or alternatively, the server 30 maycommunicate with the communication module 20 of the autonomous vehicle10 using a satellite communication link or any other suitablecommunication link.

A passenger may use the smartphone 32 and a smartphone applicationrunning on the smartphone to request transportation via the autonomousvehicle 10. For example, the passenger may input, using the smartphoneapplication, a particular destination that the passenger would like tobe transported to. While a smartphone 32 is shown and discussed, othercomputing devices, such as a tablet, laptop, or other computing device,could also be used. Once the passenger has inputted the particulardestination, the smartphone application running on the smartphone 32communicates the request for transportation, including the inputteddestination, the current location of the passenger, and uniqueidentification information associated with the smartphone 32 to theserver 30. The smartphone application may determine the current locationof the passenger using a GPS service of the smartphone 32. The currentlocation of the passenger, for example, is communicated to the server 30as a pickup location for the passenger. Alternatively, the passenger mayinput a particular pickup location that the passenger will be at forpickup.

The smartphone 32 stores the unique identification information, alsoreferred to as a unique identifier or unique ID 48 (shown in FIGS. 2Aand 2B) in a memory, such as a non-volatile memory, of the smartphone32. The unique ID 48 serves as a fingerprint for the smartphone 32 as itis uniquely associated with that particular smartphone 32. The unique ID48 may, for example, be a media access control address or MAC addressuniquely associated with the smartphone 32. Additionally oralternatively, the unique ID 48 may be assigned to the smartphone 32 bythe server 30 for purposes of locating the smartphone and the passengerwhile using the smartphone application.

The server 30 receives the request for transportation and the unique ID48 from the smartphone application running on the smartphone 32 andcommunicates the pickup location and the unique ID 48 to the autonomousvehicle 10. The controller 12 of the autonomous vehicle 10 receives thepickup location and the unique ID 48 from the server 30 through thecommunication module 20. The controller 12 stores the unique ID 48 in amemory accessible to the controller 12 as a stored unique ID 50 (shownin FIGS. 2A and 2B). Further, the controller 12 controls the steeringsystem 13, the throttle system 14, and the braking system 16 to drivethe autonomous vehicle 10 to the pickup location to pick up thepassenger.

Once the autonomous vehicle 10 has arrived at the pickup location, thecontroller 12 uses the communication module 20 to search forcommunicating computing devices, such as smartphone(s) 32, that arewithin direct communication range of the autonomous vehicle 10. Forexample, the controller 12 may control the communication module 20 tosearch for computing devices, such as smartphone(s) 32, that arecommunicating using a wireless personal area network (WPAN) in the areaof the autonomous vehicle 10. For example, the controller 12 may searchfor computing devices that are communicating with a BLUETOOTH® or othersuitable WPAN connection and that are within communication range of thecommunication module 20 and the autonomous vehicle 10. With reference toFIG. 1 and FIG. 2B, the direct wireless communication link between theautonomous vehicle 10 and the smartphone 32 is shown as line 44.

Once the controller 12 identifies a smartphone 32, within communicatingrange of the autonomous vehicle 10, the controller 12 can communicatedirectly with the smartphone 32 to request, retrieve, and/or determinethe unique ID 48 of the smartphone 32. For example, the controller 12may receive a communication packet from the smartphone 32 that includesthe unique ID 48 of the smartphone 32. Additionally or alternatively,the controller 12 may establish communication with the smartphone 32 andrequest that the smartphone 32 provide its unique ID 48 to thecontroller 12.

Once the controller 12 receives a unique ID 48 for a smartphone 32 inthe area of the pickup location, the controller 12 compares the receivedunique ID 48 for the nearby smartphone 32 with the stored unique ID 50,previously received from the server 30 and now stored in the memoryaccessible to the controller 12. When the received unique ID 48 for thenearby smartphone 32 matches the stored unique ID 50, the controller 12has confirmed that the smartphone 32 of the passenger that requestedtransportation is nearby the autonomous vehicle 10. In such case, thecontroller 12 can control the door lock actuator system 22 to unlock thedoors of the autonomous vehicle 10 and/or to open the doors of theautonomous vehicle 10 to allow the verified passenger to enter theautonomous vehicle 10. When, on the other hand, the received unique ID48 for the nearby smartphone 32 does not match the stored unique ID 50,the controller 12 continues to search for communicating computingdevices, such as smartphone(s) 32, in the vicinity. In other words, whenthe received unique ID 48 for the nearby smartphone 32 does not matchthe stored unique ID 50, the controller 12 has not yet found thesmartphone 32 of the passenger that requested transportation andcontinues to scan the area looking for the smartphone 32 the correctunique ID 48 that matches the stored unique ID 50.

The autonomous vehicle 10 may include one or more passenger detectionsensors to detect whether passengers are present in the autonomousvehicle 10. In this way, once the controller 12 has controlled the doorlock actuator system 22 to unlock the doors of the autonomous vehicle 10and/or to open the doors of the autonomous vehicle 10, the controller 12can determine, based on the data from the one or more passengerdetection sensors that passenger(s) have entered the vehicle.Additionally or alternatively, the controller 12 can determine thatpassenger(s) have entered the vehicle based on the vehicle requestcontrol logic. For example, the controller 12 can determine thatpassenger(s) have entered the autonomous vehicle 10 once the autonomousvehicle 10 has arrived at the pickup location and the doors of theautonomous vehicle 10 have been opened and then closed.

Once the autonomous vehicle 10 matches the unique ID 48 of thesmartphone 32 with the stored unique ID 50 and verified the correctpassenger, the smartphone 32 then communicates directly with theautonomous vehicle 10 using the direct wireless communication link fromthe smartphone 32 to the controller 12 through the communication module20, shown as line 44 in FIGS. 1 and 2B.

With reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B, communication between the smartphone32, the server 30, and the communication module 20 are shown both beforeand after a communication handoff. For example, in FIG. 2A before thecommunication handoff, the smartphone 32 is shown communicating with theserver over the communication link shown by line 40. The server 30, inturn, communicates with the communication module 20 over thecommunication link shown by line 42. The controller 12 communicates withthe communication module 20. With reference to FIG. 2B, after thecommunication handoff, the smartphone 32 communicates directly with thecommunication module 20 over the communication link shown by line 44.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the controller 12 controls thedoor lock actuator system 22, once the controller 12 verifies that theunique ID 48 of the smartphone 32 matches the stored unique ID 50, thecontroller 12 controls the door lock actuator system 22 to unlock thedoors of the autonomous vehicle 10 and/or to open the doors of theautonomous vehicle 10 to allow the verified passenger(s) to enter theautonomous vehicle 10 for transportation to a designated destination.

With reference to FIG. 3, a flow diagram of a method 300 for wirelessproximity detection for autonomous vehicles according to the presentteachings is illustrated. The method 300 can be performed by thecontroller 12 of the autonomous vehicle 10 and begins at 302. At 304,the controller 12 receives a request for passenger pickup at aparticular passenger pickup location from the smartphone 32 of thepassenger through communication with the server 30. The request may alsoinclude a designated destination, as inputted by the passenger.

At 306, the controller 12 receives the unique ID 48 from the smartphone32 through communication with the server 30. At 306, the controller 12also stores the unique ID 48, received from the smartphone 32, as thestored unique ID 50 in the memory accessible to the controller 12.

At 308, the controller 12 controls the autonomous vehicle to travel tothe designated passenger pickup location.

At 310, once the autonomous vehicle 10 arrives at the pickup location,the controller 12 uses the communication module 20 to search for andreceive the unique ID 48 for any smartphone(s) in the vicinity andwithin direct communication range of the autonomous vehicle 10. Asdiscussed above, the controller 12 may control the communication module20 to search for computing devices, such as smartphones, that arecommunicating using a WPAN network connection, such as a BLUETOOTH® orother suitable WPAN connection, in the area of the autonomous vehicle10. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2B, the direct wireless communicationlink between the autonomous vehicle 10 and the smartphone 32 is shown asline 44.

At 312, the controller 12 compares the received unique ID 48 from thesmartphone 32 with the previously stored unique ID 50 that is stored inthe memory accessible to the controller 12. At 312, when the receivedunique ID 48 from the smartphone 32 matches the previously stored uniqueID 50, the controller 12 has confirmed and identified the correctsmartphone 32 and passenger at the pickup location and proceeds to 314.At 312, when the received unique ID 48 from the smartphone 32 does notmatch the previously stored unique ID 50, the controller 12 loops backto 310 and continues to search for and receive the unique ID 48 for anysmartphone(s) 32 in the vicinity and within direct communication rangeof the autonomous vehicle 10. In this way, the controller 12 continuesto search and communicate with smartphone(s) 32 within directcommunication range of the autonomous vehicle 10 until the correctsmartphone 32 with a matching unique ID 48 is found.

At 314, once the correct smartphone 32 with the matching unique ID isfound, the controller 12 controls the door lock actuator system 22 tounlock the doors of the autonomous vehicle 10 and/or to open the doorsof the autonomous vehicle 10 to allow the passenger(s) to enter theautonomous vehicle 10 for transport. At 314, the controller 12 alsowaits for the passenger(s) to enter the autonomous vehicle 10. Asdiscussed above, the autonomous vehicle 10 may include one or morepassenger detection sensors to detect whether passengers are present inthe autonomous vehicle 10. In this way, the controller 12 can determine,based on the data from the one or more passenger detection sensors thatpassenger(s) have entered the vehicle. Additionally or alternatively,the controller 12 can determine that passenger(s) have entered thevehicle based on the vehicle request control logic. For example, thecontroller 12 can determine that passenger(s) have entered theautonomous vehicle 10 once the autonomous vehicle 10 has arrived at thepickup location and the doors of the autonomous vehicle 10 have beenopened and closed.

Once the passenger(s) have entered the autonomous vehicle 10, thecontroller 12 proceeds to 316 and travels to the designated destinationlocation.

At 318, once the autonomous vehicle 10 has arrived at the destinationlocation, the autonomous vehicle 10 unlocks and/or opens the doors ofthe autonomous vehicle 10 and waits for the passenger(s) to exit theautonomous vehicle 10. For example, the controller can determine, basedon data from the one or more passenger detection sensors, that thepassenger(s) have exited the vehicle. Additionally or alternatively, thecontroller 12 can determine that passenger(s) have exited the vehiclebased on the doors of the autonomous vehicle 10 having been opened andthen closed.

At 320, once the passenger(s) have exited the autonomous vehicle 10, thecontroller 12 locks and/or closes the doors of the autonomous vehicle.The controller 12 then loops back to 304 and waits for the nextpassenger pickup request from the server 30.

In this application, including the definitions below, the terms“module,” “controller,” control module,” and “system” may refer to, bepart of, or include circuits or circuitry that may include processorhardware (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes code and memoryhardware (shared, dedicated, or group) that stores code executed by theprocessor hardware. The code is configured to provide the features ofthe modules, controllers, control modules, and systems described herein.In addition, in this application the terms “module,” “controller,” or“control module” may be replaced with the term “circuit.”

Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will bethorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled inthe art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples ofspecific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thoroughunderstanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will beapparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not beemployed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many differentforms, and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of thedisclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes,well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are notdescribed in detail.

The terminology used is for the purpose of describing particular exampleembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. The singular forms“a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms aswell, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms“comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive andtherefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps,operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The methodsteps, processes, and operations described herein are not to beconstrued as necessarily requiring their performance in the particularorder discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as anorder of performance. It is also to be understood that additional oralternative steps may be employed.

When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,”“connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may bedirectly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element orlayer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast,when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engagedto,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another elementor layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Otherwords used to describe the relationship between elements should beinterpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directlybetween,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). The term“and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items.

Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used to describevarious elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, theseelements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not belimited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish oneelement, component, region, layer or section from another region, layeror section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical termswhen used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearlyindicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region,layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element,component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachingsof the example embodiments.

Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,”“lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used for ease ofdescription to describe one element or feature's relationship to anotherelement(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatiallyrelative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations ofthe device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depictedin the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turnedover, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements orfeatures would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features.Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation ofabove and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptorsused herein interpreted accordingly.

The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided forpurposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or featuresof a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particularembodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be usedin a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described.The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to beregarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modificationsare intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.

1. A system comprising: a controller that controls a door lock actuatorsystem of an autonomous vehicle, the controller being configured to (i)receive a request for transportation from a server, the request fortransportation including a pickup location and a first smartphone uniqueidentifier, (ii) to store the first smartphone unique identifierreceived from the server, (iii) to search for smartphones in a wirelesscommunication range of the autonomous vehicle in response to theautonomous vehicle arriving at the pickup location, (iv) to receive asecond smartphone unique identifier from a smartphone at the pickuplocation via a direct wireless communication link with the smartphone,(v) to compare the second smartphone unique identifier with the storedfirst smartphone unique identifier, and (vi) to control the door lockactuator system to unlock and/or open at least one door of theautonomous vehicle in response to the second smartphone uniqueidentifier matching the stored first smartphone unique identifier. 2.The system of claim 1, wherein the controller continues to search foradditional smartphones when the second smartphone unique identifier doesnot match the stored first smartphone unique identifier.
 3. The systemof claim 1, wherein the controller communicates with the smartphoneusing a wireless personal area network.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein the controller receives a communication packet from thesmartphone that includes the second smartphone unique identifier.
 5. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the controller establishes communication withthe smartphone and requests that the smartphone provide the secondsmartphone unique identifier.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein thecontroller controls the door lock actuator system to unlock at least onedoor of the autonomous vehicle when the second smartphone uniqueidentifier matches the stored first smartphone unique identifier.
 7. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the controller controls the door lockactuator system to open at least one door of the autonomous vehicle whenthe second smartphone unique identifier matches the stored firstsmartphone unique identifier.
 8. A method comprising: receiving, with acontroller of an autonomous vehicle, a request for transportation from aserver, the request for transportation including a pickup location and afirst smartphone unique identifier; storing, with the controller, thefirst smartphone unique identifier received from the server in a memoryaccessible to the controller; searching, with the controller, forsmartphones in a wireless communication range of the autonomous vehiclein response to the autonomous vehicle arriving at the pickup location;receiving, with the controller, a second smartphone unique identifierfrom a smartphone at the pickup location via a direct wirelesscommunication link with the smartphone; comparing, with the controller,the second smartphone unique identifier with the stored first smartphoneunique identifier; and controlling, with the controller, a door lockactuator system to unlock and/or open at least one door of theautonomous vehicle in response to the second smartphone uniqueidentifier matching the stored first smartphone unique identifier. 9.The method of claim 8, further comprising continuing to search, with thecontroller, for additional smartphones when the second smartphone uniqueidentifier does not match the stored first smartphone unique identifier.10. The method of claim 8, wherein the controller communicates with thesmartphone using a wireless personal area network.
 11. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the controller receives a communication packet from thesmartphone that includes the second smartphone unique identifier. 12.The method of claim 8, wherein the controller establishes communicationwith the smartphone and requests that the smartphone provide the secondsmartphone unique identifier.
 13. The method of claim 8, wherein thecontroller controls the door lock actuator system to unlock at least onedoor of the autonomous vehicle when the second smartphone uniqueidentifier matches the stored first smartphone unique identifier. 14.The method of claim 8, wherein the controller controls the door lockactuator system to open at least one door of the autonomous vehicle whenthe second smartphone unique identifier matches the stored firstsmartphone unique identifier.
 15. A system comprising: an autonomousvehicle; a door lock actuator system that controls locking and unlockingof at least one door of the autonomous vehicle; and a controllerconfigured to (i) receive a request for transportation from a server,the request for transportation including a pickup location and a firstsmartphone unique identifier received by the server from a smartphone,(ii) to store the first smartphone unique identifier received from theserver as a stored smartphone unique identifier, (iii) to search for thesmartphone in a wireless communication range of the autonomous vehiclein response to the autonomous vehicle arriving at the pickup location,(iv) to receive the first smartphone unique identifier from thesmartphone at the pickup location via at least one direct wirelesscommunication link with the smartphone, (v) to compare the firstsmartphone unique identifier with the stored smartphone uniqueidentifier, and (vi) to control the door lock actuator system to unlockand/or open at least one door of the autonomous vehicle in response tothe first smartphone unique identifier matching the stored smartphoneunique identifier.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the controller isconfigured to communicate with the smartphone using a wireless personalarea network.
 17. The system of claim 15, wherein the controller isconfigured to receive a communication packet from the smartphone thatincludes the first smartphone unique identifier.
 18. The system of claim15, wherein the controller is configured to establish communication withthe smartphone and then request that the smartphone provide the firstsmartphone unique identifier.
 19. The system of claim 15, wherein thecontroller is configured to control the door lock actuator system tounlock at least one door of the autonomous vehicle in response to thefirst smartphone unique identifier matching the stored smartphone uniqueidentifier.
 20. The system of claim 15, wherein the controller isconfigured to control the door lock actuator system to open at least onedoor of the autonomous vehicle in response to the first smartphoneunique identifier matching the stored smartphone unique identifier.